In recent years, components have become more and more miniaturized and complex along with downsizing of electric devices and electronic devices. Therefore, higher accuracy is required in laser drilling and cutting for various kinds of materials. In machine processing using a drill or a die, it is becoming more difficult to meet a requirement of higher accuracy for reasons such as tool wear.
In laser processing, non-contact micro-processing can be performed on an object to be processed. However, a molten debris and a scattered debris of the object to be processed, which are generated during the laser processing, adhere to a surface of the object to be processed, and therefore are required to be removed. Hence, in a post-step, etching such as desmear is required, resulting in increase in number of steps and costs.
In this regard, as a laser processing method capable of preventing the adhesion of the molten debris and the scattered debris, which are generated during the laser processing, to the object to be processed, there is hitherto known a laser processing method involving radiating a laser beam to the object to be processed together with a protective material under a state in which the protective material is bonded onto a surface of the object to be processed, to thereby process the object to be processed (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).